Mayweather-McGregor Update: Dana White Says He’s Reached Agreement with McGregor, But Laywers Are Holding It Up

UFC President Dana White says the MMA promotion is very close to a deal that would allow Conor McGregor to take part in a crossover bout against retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather.

“I think we’re there. Conor and I have agreed on a deal,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Then you get a bunch of lawyers involved and, you know, it gets stupid.”

When in doubt, always blame the lawyers!

The UFC has been playing hardball with McGregor all along. They’re not about to let their biggest star take part in what amounts to an elaborate but dangerous publicity stunt without major financial compensation. But White’s latest comments sound encouraging.

That said, even if the UFC does finalize a deal with McGregor, they would still have to negotiate the deal with Mayweather. And there’s plenty that can go wrong there, too. If Mayweather won’t concede a big enough portion of the purse to make both McGregor and the UFC happy, the fight will fall through.

“It’s either going to happen this year or it’s never going to happen at all,” White told Okamoto. “This isn’t something that I’m going to spend a bunch of time on, like I’m going to dedicate the next three months of my life to.”